We Must Make Change Ourselves
The politicians in Harrisburg, both Republican and Democratic, have turned their backs on homeowners.
They are more interested in sneaking through pay increases in the dark of night or fattening their pensions, than helping families and seniors keep their homes.
The Oley Valley School District School Board mirrors the same attitude. They clearly demonstrated at the March 15,2006 meeting, they have only contempt for taxpayer concerns.
Whether it is a board member trying to intimidate a speaker with a camera or stonewalling questions about the budget, the district appears determined to conduct business as usual.
There were attempts of empathy with tokenism remarks, but actions speak louder than words.
They are more interested in sneaking through pay increases in the dark of night or fattening their pensions, than helping families and seniors keep their homes.
The Oley Valley School District School Board mirrors the same attitude. They clearly demonstrated at the March 15,2006 meeting, they have only contempt for taxpayer concerns.
Whether it is a board member trying to intimidate a speaker with a camera or stonewalling questions about the budget, the district appears determined to conduct business as usual.
There were attempts of empathy with tokenism remarks, but actions speak louder than words.
We must make change ourselves
Oley School District Taxpayers
ALERT
We face a possible....
26% Increase in Property Taxes !!
Current
$2,150 Per $100,000 Per Assessed Value
2006-2007 Proposed
$2712 Per $100,000 Assessed Value
Attend Next Budget and Finance Meeting
Tuesday March 21, 2006
7:00 PM
Administration Building Boardroom
Let Your Voice Be Heard
22 Comments:
I spoke to several of the new attendees at the Board Meeting the other evening and was asked many questions regarding the actions of the board. All in all, the board was relatively well-behaved last Wednesday. They knew new people were at the meeting, and did not act the way they usually act. Please come to every meeting that you can and see how business at Oley Valley is conducted.
You will find that very little of what is spoken about at the committee meetings ever makes it to the board. When I spoke at my very first committee meeting that I went to, I brought up a problem that was not in the agenda for the board meeting that followed, so I had to bring it up. The Personnel Committe had no intention of even mentioning that I was at the Personnel Committee Meeting, let alone the fact that what I spoke about was not good!
TAXPAYERS, you need to try to attend as many of these committee meetings that you can make. Our school district is slated for the dump ulness we get involved.
INTERESTINGLY, SINCE THIS LAST BOARD MEETING, THE CURRENT MEETING DATES HAVE NOT BEEN ON THE SCHOOL'S WEBSITE. HOW TYPICAL!
I don't understand how you can link unpaid, volunteer school board members with the self serving scum in Harrisburg and Washington. If all budgets were handled in the same manner perhaps we would not each owe $30,000 on the national debt. As one of the board members commented, manner can be more important than matter, especially when the manner is always accusatory, derogatory, paranoid and full of inaccuracies and exagerrations. If you doubt this, read Mr Jacob's speech- you have to dig deep for the few legitimate nuggets he raises.Fpr really egregious commentary, listen to the 'ladies' in the audience. Everyone shoud attend the meetings and try to listen to the answers to the questions.
It was made perfectly clear that the "proposed" budget is just the beginning of the attempt to arrive at a real budget. Continuing to refer to it as anything else, is dishonest and blunts the impact of the legitimate concerns of we taxpayers.Attributing an intent to "intimidate" by filming comments, says more about the attitude of the accuser than the filmer. Most of the speechifiers who I saw, seemed either not affected or enjoyed the attention- and the possibility of an extended audience somewhere.
"I don't understand how you can link unpaid, volunteer school board members with the self serving scum in Harrisburg and Washington"
Perhaps, you should talk with Mr. Cappa. He voted to give his wife, a teacher in the district, a pay increase,along with a generous health plan.
According to the district press release, a teacher will pay $50 per month for a family of two for their health care premium.
What the health care premium does not cover, the teacher can draw on a Medical Pool Fund up to $500!
Instead of abstaining from the vote, as would someone with a sense of decorum, he voted his household a generous pay and benefit package.
"As one of the board members commented, manner can be more important than matter.."
No doubt, you are talking about Mr. Maloney. Mr. Maloney wants respect from the taxpayers, when he supports a $1,400,000 track!
It is hard to respect a person who wants to spend $1,400,000 on a track instead of education.
Next time you are at the meeting, ask him if forcing families from their homes because of a track deserves respect.
"It was made perfectly clear that the "proposed" budget is just the beginning of the attempt to arrive at a real budget."
How can the board not know the real budget and negotiate the teachers, new, five-year contract?
After all, they knew what money they had tucked away in the 2005 budget for the retroactive pay increases in 2006!
The truth of the matter is that school boards rarely make any significant cuts in "proposed budgets".
The district wants $2,797,901 increased spending. Then the board wants to do an off budget transaction from the Capital Reserve for $1,400,000.
Those numbers total $4,197,901 and they have only $544,407 of anticipated revenues to pay for the 2006 spending.
The board did not dispute the accuracy of the numbers, they are uncomfortable they have been made public.
"Attributing an intent to "intimidate" by filming comments, says more about the attitude of the accuser than the filmer."
Quoting from the Reading Eagle;
"Another board member Mary Anne McCarthy said, I'm disappointed that we do things that make people uncomfortable. It is unwelcoming to record people
Apparently, she does not share your view nor did the majority of audience at the meeting.
"Most of the speechifiers who I saw, seemed either not affected or enjoyed the attention- and the possibility of an extended audience somewhere"
It is hard to fathom people would enjoy the prospect of paying a 6.46 mill increase in school property taxes.
PARENTS OF MIDDLE SCHOOLERS BEWARE!
Parents have heard that the middle school is again planning to have children fill in answers after completion of the PSSA testing.
This is against the standard testing protocol and is not allowed by the Department of Education.
I have been told that the Department of Education contacted Dr. Zackon and the school district was told that in light of what the district did last year, there would be educator misconducts issued if there were any improprieties on this year's tests.
Please speak to your children and have them tell you if they were called to down to the "Special Room" as this is not allowed by the Department of Education.
If the school board was to act responsibly, It would take the projected revenue for the upcoming year, and ask the administration to build a budget within those constraints. Then, and only then should "wish list" items be discussed and debated. It is these items that would be the need to exercise a tax increase, and the public could then form an opinion of the schools need. As a parent with children in the school, I don't believe a tax increase is needed, I don't believe ANY new assets are needed, especially a track, unless of course it goes around a football field, to introduce a real boys sport to the district.
Unfortunately, the administration combines the wish list items into the necessities, making a mess of the process. I would not run my household, my business or even my church's budget this way, because it is wrong.
I call out to the board, especially Mr. Maloney and Mrs. Bieber (the only 2 to have enough sense to vote NO to the golden contract)to ask to restart/change the process.
THE OLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO RUN A TOP NOTCH SCHOOL. WHAT IT DOES NOT HAVE, IS A BUDGET MINDED SCHOOL BOARD.
Being new to Mayberry, I'm curious, how long has the school board been out of control?
I posted a reply earlier that has since been deleted.
Is there censorship on this blog?
Was it because of my reference to the 'current tyrants in Washington DC?'
why would anyone link unpaid volunteer school board members..
read: every member of the board either has or recently had children in the system. Strange how those children's names and photos show up quite often, isn't it?
All I know is this: If these taxes keep spiralling out of control my family will be taxed right out of our house.
I don't see the need for all this new stuff for the school when the current materials on hand are sufficient.
I don't see why the school needs a new track either.
To the person who said their comment has been deleted and is there censorship on this blog - you posted you comment under the other heading "Oley Schoolboard Stonewalls Budget Requests and it is still there.
"If the school board was to act responsibly, It would take the projected revenue for the upcoming year, and ask the administration to build a budget within those constraints."
Very good idea,but the mind set of the board determines the constraints.
The Oley Valley School boards show very little constraint.
"Unfortunately, the administration combines the wish list items into the necessities, making a mess of the process."
The size of the wish list is directly related to the efficiency and frugality of administering the district.
The school board lacks oversight of the fiscal and the educational activities of the district.
Blank check budgets indicate poor leadership.
We need a new board with new ideas.
WE NEED A NEW BOARD. PERIOD. IF THE BOARD WERE EMPLOYED BY A COMPANY THAT WAS DOWNSIZING, IT'S EASY TO SEE THE ONES THAT WOULD GET THE BOOT FIRST. AND SECOND, AND THIRD....AND....
we sure do need a change on this board. The school district is running scared this week with the PSSA testing. If the students learned to the state standards we would not need to worry of getting low scores. Teachers need to teach to our children so they can be able to go to college and get good paying jobs.. After all our future depends of this. Do not let these kids down. Start caring
the time has come... I have been extremely upset of what I see going on in this school district. 60 seniors had to retake the PSSA test over. They were basic or below basic. 11th grade is too late to start teaching children to read and do math.
As to Dr. Cappa's voting for his wife's contract, has anyone realized that Bob Heckman voted for his "daughter's" contract who is a teacher in the district.
If everyone knew half of the indescretions that have and do go on with this board, maybe we'd have enought people WHO VOTE to run them all out of town. We need to start over with 9 NEW board members who actually understand fiscal responsibility and honest accounting practices.
Someone's father, "the sage",was quite right. Also, being uneducated, and/or ignorant doesn't NECESSARILY mean you're stoopid but OBVIOUSLY, sometimes does.It's amazing how many of us are so desperate for a means of expressing ourselves without having someone hold us accountable for our nonsense. This is fun isn't it? Rave on bloggies!
The correct spelling is: stupid
anonymous said "This is fun isn't it? Rave on bloggies!
This is not meant to be FUN. Unfortunately, it's necessary because the press is controlled by past/present school teachers the managing editor and his staff are married to. It's our only recourse.
Although I suspect the person who wrote the antagonistic remark is actually a member of the board, who considers his school board role as amusement -- please try to remember that our hard earned school taxes are helping to fund your household. One should never bite the hand that feeds one. Please get psychiatric help. The only one you're amusing is yourself.
Get psychiatric help? Better yet, if your parents are still around, look them in the eye and tell them exactly what you do, and how you act. That is the true test. NO parent would be proud of their son or daughter forcing the elders of the town out of their own homes.
There is a total lact of respect, organization, and/or class with the current members of the Oley School Board. When they read these posts, laughter is not supposed to be the object of this blog. Nobody is laughing on their way to the poor house.
You are 100% right, they have 0 class. They say they need things for the kids, well then why do we have text books from the turn of the century, kids that take off when they reach school. I have seen kids get off the buses and head to main street not the front door. Kids no the school system does not care about them or what they will turn out to be.
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